


Pretty Percy

by BoiJustLetMeBe



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Coming of Age, Happy Ending, Homophobia, Insecurity, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:06:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25472113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoiJustLetMeBe/pseuds/BoiJustLetMeBe
Summary: In 1987 Oliver can't help but think Percy is pretty even if others think it's strange. After years of silence, Oliver finally tells him in 1998.
Relationships: Percy Weasley/Oliver Wood
Comments: 12
Kudos: 156





	Pretty Percy

**Author's Note:**

> Lowkey dedicated to a dude in my class who had a go at me because apparently you can't call boys pretty

"And then Grace held my hand!" Brad boasted as the other boys looked at him in wow.

Oliver wished he was down on the Quidditch pitch or in the library with his newly made friend, he'd rather be anywhere than sitting in his dorm with three out of four of the other boys who also slept there, on top of that he'd rather be talking about anything other than girls.

"Her hand was really soft, and her brown hair is so fluffy she let me touch it and it was just like petting a really nice dog! Grace is actually so pretty." He stated in a matter-of-fact manner, Alfred hummed before thoughtfully adding: "I think Zuri is very pretty, her brown eyes look just like chocolate and I love chocolate!" Zahid nodded frantically, "Yes both Grace and Zuri are pretty but I think Chloe is also very pretty because she just is." As they continued discussing they noticed one member of the group wasn't contributing at all. 

"Who do you find pretty Oliver?" 

The other three boys turned to look at him curiously and he felt his face heat up at the sudden attention, after a moment he realised they were still waiting for a reply so he stuttered out the first name that came to mind when the word 'pretty' was said:

"Percy."

Their blank faces stared at him for a while before they all burst out laughing, "What?!" Brad asked surprised as Zahid fell backwards holding his stomach bursts of laughter escaping him. "You do know Percy is a boy, right?" Said Alfred in a half-joking half-serious tone. Oliver suddenly felt very insecure about his answer, he'd been hanging out with Percy a lot lately, they'd only known each other a few months but he found himself rather drawn to the other boy. Was that wrong? Wasn’t he supposed to find Percy pretty?

"Well yes Percy is a boy, but he's still very pretty," Oliver said determinately to the other boys, finding he was becoming rather defensive when the topic revolved around Percy being pretty, he wanted them to understand and stop looking at him like he was crazy, "His hair is also very soft and it's curly and red which can make it look like fire sometimes, and his eyes are bright blue like the sky, and his hands are small and delicate compared to the big books he's always carrying around. I just think he's really pretty."

They considered him carefully before Alfred spoke up, "Yeah I think I get what you mean...", Oliver sighed a breath of relief he didn’t know he was holding. A few seconds passed before Brad looked at him funny and asked, "But like, you wouldn't hold his hand, right?" The uncomfortably uncertain look the other boys were giving him made Oliver say "No, of course not," when in reality he meant 'Yes actually, I would very much like to hold Percy's hand, it would be so small and cute compared to mine and I'm sure his hand would fit in mine even more perfectly than Grace's hand fits in yours, Brad!' but he didn't, and he was kind of glad he didn't because all three boys seemed to relax and their odd expressions changed. "That's good! Because boys hold hands with girls, not other boys." Brad stated, leaving Oliver feeling squeamish inside as insecurities bubbled in his stomach. There was an awkward silence that filled the air until Zahid started laughing again and at the confused looks he simply said: "Pretty Percy."

\--

Oliver tried really hard not to think about Pretty Percy again and instead tried to see him as Perfect Prefect Percy like everyone else did. He wasn’t weird. But as years went on it became more changeling because Percy would walk into their dorm in nothing but a towel loosely tied around his waist as he hurriedly looked for his pyjamas; his narrow hips, damp fiery hair that stuck to his forehead, freckles that covered his entire body and his tall thin frame covered in a light red flush from the hot shower, could all add up to nothing but 'pretty' in Oliver's mind. Other times when Percy would sit in front of the common room fire with a cup of tea, wearing a sweater and his horn-rimmed glasses, reading a book or chatting to Alfred about Ancient Runes, Oliver couldn't help but think he looked aesthetically pretty. Or when Percy had just woken up and was rubbing the sleep from his eyes or the way Percy looked when he buttered his toast or the way Percy’s fiery hair stood out from the crowd as Percy studied in the Quidditch stands. Or the way he smiled at Oliver when he got a good grade or finally understood what Percy was tutoring him on. 

Oliver thought Percy was pretty and he hated it. He should think Grace, Zuri, Chloe, Penelope and all the other girls were pretty, not Percy. If he told people he thought Percy was pretty, surely he would just get weird looks, Percy would also probably get upset. Oliver heard the slurs that were thrown around in the hallways, he didn’t want to seem weird and he didn’t want to get Percy involved so he kept his mouth shut. 

It was one cold November night when Oliver walked into their dorm to find Percy perched on the windowsill, the moonlight streaming in through the window made him look heavenly, his freckles looked like moondust that had been sprinkled over his face, the lowlight made his hair look like burning coal and his long lashes left a faint shadow on his pale face, dare Oliver say he looked very very pretty. He didn't have long to stare because soon he felt a hand on his shoulder and a voice whispering in his ear: "Percy is really pretty, isn't he?" Oliver whipped around as fast as he could so he came face to face with Alfred who put his hands up in defence, "Don't worry mate, you put your mark on him back in first year I wouldn't dare overstep. But really, it’s okay, Oliver. I think you should just hurry up and tell him." 

Oliver had always been a bit different and maybe that was okay to think Percy was pretty. However, he always put it off scared of his peers’ reactions. One thing leads to another and before Oliver knew it school was over, and he had never got to tell Percy about his feelings or about how Oliver thought he was the prettiest thing in the entire universe. 

\--

Blood and fire and anguish. 

Dust was still heavy in the air even after the war was won. Oliver helped carry the last body to the Hall and he briefly surveyed the room, recognising far too many faces of people who shouldn't have died: Collin, Remus, Tonks, Alfred, among many many others. It was all too overwhelming, so Oliver hurried outside, he hadn't gone too far when he finally spotted him.

Percy stood in the ugly remains of chaos looking like a poppy in the middle of a battle-torn field. 

He sprinted to the other man; Percy turned around to face him. His red hair now had splatters of dried red blood, his freckles were covered by dust and his sky-blue eyes were covered by dirty broken glasses, but the sight still made Oliver lose his breath.

"I love you." He said before he could think about anything, life was too short not to live truly and honestly. Percy stood staring his bottom lip trembling tremendously so Oliver simply grabbed the other man and pulled him flush against his body, burying his face into the redhead's neck inhaling deeply, he heard a murmur of "I love you too," leaving Percy's lips. After standing there just holding each other Oliver finally felt the strength to say:

"You are so pretty, Percy."

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this quickly on my phone so might not be of best quality soz i just had to get the concept out of my brain lmao ://   
> Kudos and comments are always nice :))


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